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Photos of this event - click here
The music blared non-stop.
Colored lights swept across the room bathing it in hues of red, yellow, green, blue, and orange.
Members of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter and their guests—each with $25,000 in funny money—sat elbow to elbow at Black Jack or Texas Hold’em tables.
Others bellied up to craps and roulette tables while some stood in line to “wet their whistles,” or sample the buffet of chicken wings, meatballs, nachos, mini-potato skins, and stuffed mushrooms.
There was even an impromptu floor show with line dancing, a female “hoops shoot,” and what might barely pass as a Chippendales’ performance with clothes, but that came later into the evening.
It was enough to make you think it was a night in Vegas!
Instead, it was the Woody Hayes Banquet Room at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Café on Olentangy River Rd., and things really rocked at the chapter’s first Casino Night March 31.
Without a doubt, this was one of the best attended, most high-spirited events in chapter history with more than 70 fun-loving people in attendance.
For two and one-half hours cards slid across the tables, dice bounced from the backboard, and the roulette wheel turned as the gamers tried their best to beat the house—Black Diamond Casino Events, a Cincinnati/Columbus company that staged the event.
The goal was to accumulate chips that could be exchanged for raffle tickets for a number of door prizes that were awarded at the end of the evening. Each participant received one raffle ticket at the beginning of the evening to exchange for $25,000 in funny money.
The idea then was to parlay the initial investment into as much money as possible before the gaming ended. Throughout the evening, John Marsh, entertainment director for BCDE, offered the gamers numerous non-gambling ways to increase their bankrolls.
When the tables closed, participants were able to “buy” additional tickets for each $10,000 they had in chips and money. While no attempt was made to determine the night’s big winners, there appeared to be several as it took considerable time for some to convert their winnings into tickets.
Many adjectives were used to describe the event, ranging from “outstanding” to “wonderful,” and came amid a pledge by several chapter members that Casino Night would be held again in 2007 and might even become an annual event alongside the yearly golf outing.
The evening was successful for many reasons—the large turnout, the expertise of BDCE in keeping things exhilarating and flowing, the excellent buffet prepared by the Buckeye Hall of Fame Café, the corporate sponsors, the door prize donors, and the hard work by the chapter’s Programs/Social Committee in arranging the event.
The chapter paid particular appreciation to its Platinum, Gold, and Silver level sponsors with a table display and with recognition at the end of the evening by BCDE’s Marsh. Event sponsors were also recognized by Marsh and with their names on placards on easels placed throughout the gaming room.
Event sponsors and their representatives were: BHDP Architecture, Vicki Simons; Belfor USA, Tara Gasskjolen; Brickman, Justin Murphy; Central Business Group, Dave Connelly; Construction Systems, Inc., J.D.Flaherty; Commercial Movers, Inc., Ken Mulligan; Cort Furniture Rental, Brett Frangos.
Graebel, Anne Harrod, HLH Systems, Pat McClure; Meg Ginther, RA, Meg Ginther; Planes Commercial Services, Jack Supinger and Matt Frost; Ruscilli Development, Sandy Stayrook, Sauer Technical Services, Dave Padavana; Singer Wallcoverings, Stephanie Segall; and TW Ruff, Stephen Cooke.
Door prizes, which consisted of home fire extinguishers, golf shirts, a home therapy kit, and gift certificates, were donated by AOL, Jeremy Rycus; API Security, Edward Johnson; Belfor, Tara Gasskjolen; Ruscilli Development, Sandy Stayrook, and the Buckeye Hall of Fame Café.
Members of the Programs/Social Committee, co-chaired by Sandy Stayrook and Matt Frost, and other chapter members responsible for preparations for Casino Night included Justin Murphy, Vickie Simons, Anne Harrod, Oren Snell, Dave Connelly, Shelly Sensenbrenner, and Eileen Smith.